[MUSIC] Coming up on Local Routes.

So I'm trying out a whole new location here on a dirt bike trail.

Searching high and low, we go on a quest to find an elusive creature in the Apalachicola National Forest.

in the past 12 years, somehow that happened.

And nobody noticed it until a couple days ago.

Mother nature makes a surprising addition to a Tallahassee palm tree.

Why me?

Why am I the one?

It's a million people probably bake better than me.

Why am I the one that has like, taken Tallahassee over by storm We meet a local baker whose talent, tenacity, and love of family turns her side hustle into a successful business that has her cakes flying off shelves and around the country.

Take the local routes and journey down the roads we call our home Welcome to Local Routes.

I'm Suzanne Smith with WFSU Public Media.

The Apalachicola National Forest is the site for our first story today, established by President Franklin D Roosevelt in 1936, it is the largest national forest in the entire state of Florida.

It stretches from southwest Tallahassee, west all the way to the Apalachicola River.

Wfsu ecology producer Rob Diaz de Villegas has spent years showing us the unique flora and fauna of this region.

today, in a special collaboration with Nova and PBS.

Rob takes us on a quest to find a unique and elusive creature that lives in the forest.

So we're in the Apalachicola National Forest today looking for the bee that lives in this mound.

The rarely observed sandhills cellophane bee.

Anyone who knows me knows I love bees.

These photos are from my yard.

Florida has over 320 species of native bees and I garden to try to see as many as I can.

I also drag my kids out into the forest to look for rare and local species.

Hi, this is Max.

I am here in the forest with Dad.

Dad, say hi.

When I photograph bees and other insects, I upload them to an app called iNaturalist, which helps me identify them.

So satisfying.

Apps like iNaturalist, Merlin Bird ID, and eBird have changed how a lot of us interact with nature.

But while the apps teach us about the plants and animals we see, they also collect data.

A lot of data.

And so I wondered how useful is our data to researchers?

Spring is a time for bees, butterflies and flowers.

So I'm focusing my investigation on my naturalist.

So iNaturalist has given me a name: flowering bluets, genus Houstonia.

iNaturalist is an app that can identify most living things large enough to photograph.

You take and upload photos, and it gives you a list of suggestions based on pattern recognition software.

And then other users agree or disagree with your pick.

The app also records time and place information.

Photos and data can be useful to biologists like Brian Inouye.

He's riding the Munson Sandhills in hopes of saving a rare butterfly.

One of the species that we have here in the Munson Sandhills is a little butterfly called the frosted elfin.

And this butterfly, at least in the north Florida part of its range, it's a specialist on one plant, the sundial lupine.

And so in order to find the butterfly, the best thing we can do is to find the plant.

Every spring, Brian makes observations of any sundial lupine plants he finds.

He and his research collaborators are trying to get others to do the same.

So if you see something that might look like lupine and you're not sure, or even if you are sure, you get as close as you can.

Just make sure there's nice resolution to it.

Take that photo and then you can upload it to iNaturalist.

It'll go straight to the University of Florida and notify biologists saying, Hey, there's something here.

So how do these observations help the butterfly?

The frosted elfin has disappeared from much of its range due to habitat loss.

By mapping out where sundial lupine plants are found, researchers can identify new potential locations for the butterfly or places where new plantings can bridge the gaps between populations.

Each roadside type connection could be that next steppingstone to another population for them.

Any little bit of lupine out there could be a reservoir for this rare butterfly.

And we need to know the most we can about this thing.

Citizen science apps generated tens of millions of observations in 2023, and many were of vulnerable species.

The red points on this map are iNaturalist observations used by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory, or FNAI.

They're partners in the frosted elfin project, and they monitor hundreds of plant and animal species of interest.

That's a lot of data from non-scientists like myself, about gopher tortoises, frosted flatwoods salamanders, and yes, rare bees.

But how reliable is it?

We visit one of those data points to find out.

We're going on a bee hunt.

Here at Leon Sinks, a rarely observed sandhills cellophane bee was photographed on a blueberry bush.

Maybe.

FNAI biologist Dave Almquist explains.

The iNaturalist records, to me, the pictures weren't quite 100% saying that it was that species.

It was definitely the same genus or a relative of the bee that we're looking for If a photo isn't clear or close up, a researcher might not see what they need to see to definitively ID species But the observation has location data.

And that leads us right to the Bush.

No bee.

Next, we check in the sandy areas where the bee is likely to nest.

It doesn't feel quite as soft, like beach sand or dune sand.

The places I know of with the most burrows, they seem to be much more- it's much more soft.

Like if you walked in it, it would give under your feet.

No luck here.

There are no bee nests in this sand.

But now I'm making it a point to find the bee.

The bee was discovered just a few years ago and researchers like Brian are trying to learn more about it.

If I can find it in a new place, we'll know just a little bit more about its range.

After our trip to Leon Sinks, Dave went back to his computer and found other likely spots he thought the sandhills cellophane bees might be inhabiting, and he sent me a map.

To make his map, Dave used iNaturalist data in a way he hadn't before.

He looked for plants associated with the bee's habitat.

So the sandhill cellophane bee, as the name suggests, needs sandhills to make its nests.

But those sandhills are always next to, usually next to, cypress wetlands like this one here.

Part of the reason is this wetland is surrounded by climbing fetterbush.

It's all along the edge of the wetland here.

It's a strange blueberry relative vine that climbs up trees, burrows under their bark for support and comes back out.

But it's not parasitic.

I also took records for turkey oaks because those are an indicator of sandhills, this nice dry xeric area that the bees can burrow into easily Location one: I find a cellophane bee immediately, but is it a sandhill cellophane bee?

The mounds look right, but all I have is a cell phone.

These aren't the best photos to make an observation, so it's not a definitive ID.

An identification on iNaturalist is not 100%.

A lot of the pictures of insects don't actually show the diagnostic characters.

If there's not enough detail, you can't really tell unless you can actually get a really good macro photo of some insects.

I returned a couple of times with my work camera.

You can see the difference now.

I have a research grade observation for a sandhills cellophane bee.

This means two thirds of the people who ID'd the photos agree on the species.

In this case, the people who verified the ID were biologists.

They usually check on observations related to their specialty.

So I'm trying out a whole new location here on a dirt bike trail.

I check out other sites on Dave's map, and so does he.

So I think between you and I, we've found at least three new sites for the bee.

Honestly, I'm surprised that it worked out as well as it did.

I expected to maybe find one new site, but not three of them amount of time.

That's three new data points for Dave and his team.

Like with the Frosted Elfin, we use that iNaturalist data for plants to help find the insects that use the plants.

Plants are much easier to photograph than small flying insects.

As for the photos of the insects themselves, quality matters.

But even if it's not 100% clear, it's new data that researchers would not have otherwise had.

And they may follow up a little worried it's just going to stay.

For WFSU, I'm Rob Diaz de Villegas.

[BUZZING] You can learn more about citizen science apps like iNaturalist, the Cellophane Bee, and many other creatures of the Apalachicola National Forest.

By going to wfsu.org/ecologyblog.

For our next story, we didn't have to go to a national forest to find a unique specimen.

All we had to do was go to the front yard of our station.

Here's an image.

See if you can see it.

No?

can't find it?

That's okay.

We didn't see it initially either.

In his special brand of unique humor issues, Mike Plummer explores a strange Pindo Palm tree hiding in plain sight.

It is often said that two heads are better than one.

Will you please stop this infernal machine?

Oh, just shut up!

Help!

Shut up!

Now it's your turn.

In theory, maybe.

In Hollywood, not so much.

But in Florida, nature doesn't stop at two heads.

In 2012, we discovered a three headed pindo palm growing out in front of the WFSU Broadcast Center.

Our news department documented the discovery with an online write up, then named the palm, Vincent.

Also in Florida, Panama City claimed the world's only four headed pindo palm.

Locals called him for Toed Pete.

Go figure.

The four headed Panama City Pindo went roots up in 2018.

So imagine our surprise one recent morning when an alert camera shy employee blurted out, Hey, when did our palm tree grow.

Another head.

It was true.

Vincent, the three headed pindo palm was now sporting a new fourth set of palm fronds.

Naturally, I wanted answers so I went to the source, How long have you been here, Mr. Pindo?

Well, you say something.

but my queries went unanswered.

Vincent wasn't talking.

Undaunted, I dispatched a crackerjack research team to sift through the archives, and they hit silver, silver nitrate, that is.

A photo of young Vincent dating back to 1983.

That's him hiding behind the broadcast center sign.

Furthermore, he appeared to only have one head.

We now knew Vincent was at least 41 years old, and was originally a mono top.

One of the great advantages of working at a top research university is that we have access to smart people, unfazed by unusual questions.

I contacted David MacManus, assistant director of landscaping at Florida State University.

Where here we see these, two trunks develop.

Yep.

The central bud, was disturbed.

In some fashion.

And then two buds developed, growing and making these two heads, which then later, for some unknown reason, once again, we have them branching out so that we have four heads.

So now.

So we think that so this is first, then these two are second.

Right.

And this would be third.

Right.

Okay.

Which happened, you know, twice.

And then over here, this is one we just discovered.

Yes.

This, head here is younger than.

Or is it this one or this one?

This is the youngest.

Okay.

Here it's come out.

And this is the older one right here.

Okay.

Yeah.

Because we hadn't, we had...in 2012.

This was the three headed palm.

But now it's a four headed.

But now it's four had it.

So in the past 12 years somehow that happened and nobody noticed it until a couple days ago.

The pindo palm is widely planted here.

It's originally from, southern Brazil, northern Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay in South America and its native habitat.

It's many times found in grasslands and and dry forest So the pindo palm relation to the other palms, and it's a slower growing palm and it's very, quite long lived.

And it's very likely that there are a number of specimens, you know, in South America that, you know, may be upwards to nearly 400 years old.

Oh, wow.

We're talking hundreds of years, not decades.

Right?

So do you have any idea what causes the pindo palm to grow multiple heads?

Anything that really disturbs that central, apical bud, causing it to bend or break, you know, can, then stimulate, the production then of more than one, apical bud.

And, this could be due to physical injury, for example, a limb falling on the bud, from wind, you know, breaking it.

It could be, due to conditions such as fire or an insect or animal chewing on it.

There's just a number of different reasons why it could make that response.

However, it's also true that such palms.

that once they do this, they many times will have a tendency to make, more heads.

But this one here at WFSU, I think is, a worthy destination for palm lovers.

If you want to see a really cool, multi-headed Pindo palm, you come here to WFSU and you'll see it.

Meanwhile, repeated efforts to communicate with Vincent have proven futile.

for WFSU Public Media, I'm Mike Plummer.

is Vincent the only four headed pinto palm tree in the world?

Well, you might be able to help us answer that question.

Let us know if you find one in your backyard or in your travels.

For many, starting a business can be a daunting experience.

Sometimes it can feel like you're lost in the woods, but that's not always the case.

WFSU producers Alex Campbell and Freddie Hall introduce us to a woman who started a side hustle that she turned into a successful business, and she also found herself along the way.

Postpartum depression.

After my twins, I had anxiety real bad.

And so I need an outlet to handle my anxiety is healing.

Most people couldn't dream of doing their passion every day.

It's just really a faith walk and whatever happens, happens.

I probably was about 12, 12 years old, just baking cookies.

I put baking down a long time and then I was a teenage mother, so a lot of times I would have to bake or cook something and didn't know what I was doing.

Being so young, having kids.

But then I picked it back up when my dad got sick.

He got sick and was in the hospital and my first big bake while he was in the hospital was a pound cake and so my sister said oh girl.

You did it.

You might need to do something about this.

I set it down for a long time after that, he got well.

I stopped baking.

And so once I started, once I had the twins, that's when I picked it back up.

So being that I had kids so early in life as a teenager, I had two kids by the age of 19, and then I had another child like 27.

And so in the end, and then having the twins at like 32 years old, I had pretty much teenagers and then I had a little baby.

And so just I think the shock of it all, having to come home and seeing so many kids at one time and then having to to alter my time with each one and making sure that I spent enough time with each child and still going to work.

The pressures of life just I just felt like I was running me crazy.

And so I just needed something like I would go home and just cry.

Didn't want to be there.

Postpartum is I mean, depressed that I don't have my mom, like, I don't have any help even though my husband was there.

But these babies crying all the time.

And I'm like, okay, I need something to kind of tune that out just for me.

I need something just for me.

And so baking was that for me.

So I was a grant grant manager for the state of Florida, and so I couldn't concentrate at work.

And so one of my good friends, Brittany Jones, called me and she said, Girl, I just quit my job to go full time and be an entrepreneur.

And I said, Hold on, let me go.

Let me go outside real quick.

And so she kind of especially talked to me as she can inspire me.

And I was like, okay, maybe that's the message I needed to to get out here because I can't think about anything else.

But cake, I can't go nowhere in in the state because they like you the cake lady.

And so it's just like everybody just kept talking about Cake.

And so about a month later, I put them in two week notice.

Taylor Confections So in the beginning I was telling my sister I need a catchy name, and she was like, Oh, you tailored the confections to their tastebuds.

I was like, Okay, girl.

And so far, Taylor Confections, as we've grown, it became so it was too long.

And so I was like, T C. See?

So now known as Miss T C, which has nothing to do with my name, you so Southwood Sweets in Southwood.

They reached out to me.

I was like, Hey, would you be interested in partnering up?

I need a bakery because they had another bakery and they pulled out at the last minute.

And so someone mentioned me.

So that little spot red eye called, Hey, you're doing it for Southwood.

Can I get some too doing?

Okay, cool, man.

Somebody else will smoothie time.

Hey, you doing Redeye.

Can you do me now?

Oh, somebody.

I mean, this has always been.

And then the major one that we recently got about was the international airport.

So I went T L H I didn't even know until recently.

We, the first black woman owned bakery in the airport.

So that made huge news.

So, you know, it's it's been good.

It's been good.

Yes.

And we have vending the machines.

So those out of vending machines.

So we're just all over.

So they called me.

So they have a new bakery, they have a new tailwind is the actual vendor for the airport.

They called me and said, Hey, we want to bring in local businesses to help garner some more publicity for the airport.

Sure and we go there.

As soon as I walk into the airport, they're like T C bakery because I have a shirt on, you know, and they're like, You're coming in here, you coming here?

And I was like, Yeah.

And so from there he was like, Oh, I guess you're already here then.

And so I filled out the paperwork and it's been go ever since.

Those that airport has blessed my life because now not only am I being known here at home, but people are doing international flights just because of after TSA so they can take it on a plane with them.

So now I have people in like Ohio and Charlotte and different areas around the country like, hey, I had a product and I got it from Tallahassee Airport.

So we have catapulted it to business a little another level.

And then to have, you know, Black Enterprise come and say, hey, you know, you the first black one, I didn't even know because that's never my intention to get the notoriety.

And just it was just another opportunity for people to like my stuff.

You are my best cakes.

You can buy, you seeing someone smile, you know, the money is great and it's good and all that.

But at the end of the day, my main focus is I want you to enjoy my product.

That's all I really want.

So if you celebrate a birthday or a wedding and you chose me as part of your celebration, that's an honor for me.

You know, sometimes I don't even take money just because I just like to see the smiles that that's what's driving me.

That's my passion.

It's to see people enjoy my product because it takes them back to a time where, you know, I remember my mama used to make these and, you know, my sweet potato pie.

They'll say, Oh, my goodness, That is just like my grandmama.

That's what I want.

And so that's really was like the driving force behind everything.

So off and on I would get every blue moon.

But now I'm getting pretty often and I refer to all my friends, my church member and coworker and so forth, and just trying to, you know, support her a support.

You know what a black owned woman business who really has a heart for, you know, it's her business, but she has a heart for, you know, serving people.

So you want to support individuals that are doing things like that.

I tell her every single day how proud of her I am.

I am so glad you just like you blowing up.

You're there, you're doing your thing.

And you finna take world by storm.

When I tell her that every day and she's like, Oh, well, I appreciate, you know, you don't understand.

I appreciate you for letting me be a part.

So, yeah, I'm I'm just happy for what I have learned from Jennifer is to, regardless of what you go through, continue to keep pushing because there's sunshine on the other side.

It's I was in pain with that depression and he literally took birth out.

My purpose in in that place, that bad place that I was in, and then to have a supportive family on top of it that told me you could do it, you could do it.

And it has been surreal for all of us.

And I attribute just everything to my upbringing.

My daddy was the one that taught me.

He taught me how to be a woman, you know, when my mama died.

At ten he and he never remarried.

And so it was just him and I until the day he died like a year ago.

And so he would speak things.

Into me when I didn't even believe in myself.

And even I still have those times where I don't believe that I can't believe this is happening.

Why I question it all the time.

Why me?

Why am I the one is a million people probably better than me.

Why am I the one that has like taken Tallahassee over by storm?

And it's like, it's God ordained and so there is no explanation for it.

So it's just taking it all in.

Yeah, taking it all in.

He always told me I can do anything I want to do, anything I wanted to do.

Before he died, I saw him an hour before he died and he told me, Baby, you will be a household name.

And I was like, daddy you, we don't know what you're talking about.

And so and sure enough, he was like, People are gonna know your name.

And I was like, Well, I'm just trying to make a little something to get these kids through college.

And he died an hour later on my couch.

And it's when he spoke those words, are coming true.

Baking has provided the same outlet for me, especially now that my dad's gone.

It's healing.

It's healing to me and seeing that people are enjoying the product and seeing the fruits of my labor and seeing everything that he's spoken to in my life and seeing that is coming true.

I mean, that's a driving force for me.

Every morning that I get to do something I love every single day.

Most people couldn't dream of doing their passion every day, you know, because I would do it without money, you know, I would literally get up if I could do this every day, I would like literally without any pay anything.

So getting paid and getting the narrative is just extra for me.

I still don't know how to take all what's happened in, you know, I really, really don't.

I don't have a business plan.

I don't like.

I'm it like there's no business plan, there's no forecasting, there's nothing.

I'm still self funded.

I'm still playing it by ear.

I don't it's just really a faith.

Walk, and whatever happens, happens.

That's all for this episode of Local Routes.

You can see these stories and more on our website wfsu.org/local routes.

And while you're online, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Plus, don't forget to sign up for our Community Calendar newsletter delivered weekly to your email.

It is a great way to stay on top of events happening in person and in the virtual world.

I'm Suzanne Smith and for everyone at WFSU Public Media.

Thanks for watching.

Have a great week everyone.

Magnolia trees meet the southern skies in the land where rivers wind.

Seeds that spring up from the past leave us treasures yet to find.

Where our children play along the land our fathers built with honest hands.

Take a moment now and look around at the Paradise we have found.

Take the Local Routes and journey down the roads we call our home.

[MUSIC]